So tired that I feel really, really unwell.

[Patchworkquilt24]

I get about 6/7 hours sleep a night. It's very difficult to get any more sleep as I have to get up at 5:30 for work and I have responsibilities in the evening. I try and go to sleep by 10pm after I've done all the things I need to do. After an 8 hour day of work (I do an active, stressful job) and an hours commute there and back, I feel absolutely exhausted. A couple of people at work have commented on how pale and tired I look, someone today thought I'd been crying. On the drive home I feel like I could fall asleep. When I get home I just want to go to bed. I look in the mirror and I don't look well. What's going on?!

Rang GP and was told I'd have to wait until end of January for a telephone appointment for a doctor to decide whether I need bloods. Told them I couldnt wait that long and been told to ring next week for a bloods appointment to be booked.

That time scale is ridiculous @Patchworkquilt24 Call then tomorrow morning and tell them that you want to be seen that day. That absolutely is not good enough. Be insistent.

Given you are achey I would consider magnesium too- our soils are so deficient in it now from intensive farming and the majority of people are lacking in it . It’s well worth googling and it really does cause tiredness , aches , and a whole host of other chaos.

to be deficient in it, I mean

@youcancallmequeenE I know. She would have been very happy for me to wait until the end of January for a doctor just to ring me. It was only because I said absolutely not, I cannot wait that long and I feel too unwell and I need investigations and help. Then suddenly she was able to send a message to the doctor

Have a look at the NHS website for stress and anxiety as both cause fatigue, exhaustion and aches and pains. Bloods are still a good idea but there may be things you can do in the meantime. I found guided meditation apps (they're 10-20mins so easy to fit in) an acupressure mat and osteopathy helpful.

Waking up tired and achy after a good night's sleep sounds to me like fibromyalgia (speaking as a fellow sufferer). You could try pregabalin to see if it helps, also try as best you can to minimize stress and get as much exercise as you can.

Could also be perimenopause?

Otherwise perhaps a vitamin B, D, iron and/or magnesium deficiency.

This time last year I went to the docs as I had terrible bone pain, was convinced I had rheumatoid arthritis or something. I was also exhausted all the time but just wrote that off to normal life....

Turned out I was severely deficient in vitamin D. Started taking a supplement in September and will do so until March. Touch wood my energy levels are fine and no aches and pains.

The reason you get bone pain with vitamin D deficiency is because it builds the outer layers of your bones and so those layers don't get built up enough so they become tender (that is a layman explanation!!).

You need a blood test as a priority.

I agree you need this investigated as a priority but a good overall tonic you could start on is Floradix - available in good health shops and some chemists. Hope you feel better soon

Floradix is really good as is Metatone I've taken both after bouts of illness.

6-7 hrs sleep is pretty good so if you're feeling dreadful you need to prioritise sleep as a pp said.

Definitely take vit D!

Think a trip to Holland and Barrett may be in store today!

I've been feeling like this, turns out it's a folate deficiency. I hope you get it sorted

I probably wouldn't take any supplements until after your blood tests. If you take them now and improve whatever level it is, you will never know what the problem was, and which type of supplement you need to continue to take.

If you are sleeping 6 or 7 hours and you physically need 8 or 9 you will feel really tired and are susceptible to chronic diseases like diabetes. I know that's a facile thing to say but it is also true. You can't fix chronic sleep deprivation with one good night's sleep. Even an hour of missed sleep takes four or fives days to repair.

Deffo get blood tests but also take seriously that you need more than 6 hours sleep. There are almost no humans that can be healthy on 6 hours sleep.

How long do you spend getting ready in the morning? An early shift worker asked advice on here and the advice was to shower the eve before, have clothes ready, bag packed, snacks/lunch made. So you just get up, have a drink, brush your teeth and go.
If you are spending an hour getting ready, that's an hour you could have been sleeping.
I know you probably don't have the energy to experiment with a low carb diet for a week, but if you do, Diet Doctor website has essential shopping basics and menu ideas. I don't feel good if I eat high carb and sugar, so perhaps stopping that and using all the supplements and tonics recommend, will turn this around for you.

I have just been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, could this be a possibility? Do you snore? Do you have a partner who could watch you sleep? Although frequent night waking is a symptom which it doesn't sound like you do. I hope you can get it sorted soon but like others have said I wouldn't take any supplements until after blood tests

I suffer with an underactive thyroid which despite treatment has been a problem on and off for last couple of years. Some vitamin deficiencies can cause the same symptoms but I totally understand how tiredness can reach a level where it makes you feel ill, and I have a lot of sympathy. Blood tests are the way to go.

I'm now being sent for text for sleep apnoea do keep pushing for the tests

I agree that you need to be asleep earlier.

I felt very similar a few months ago and it was my iron reserves that were low. I had achy limbs, exhausted and couldn't face doing anything, just thinking about doing something made me feel like crying. 4 months of iron and I feel massively better x

I've felt like this recently, also getting dizzy when I'm tired and stressed. Had loads of tests but the only abnormal result was low vitamin D. I'm now taking mega doses once a month. Definitely get checked. There are so many things that can cause exhaustion and many are easily treated.

My friend felt like this before christmas and ended up passing away from a blood clot.
Totally out of the blue.

Everyone though she just had fatigue.

You definitely need to go to the drs.